Growing costs in social care services highlighted as Council Tax rise proposed for 2026 to 2027, despite savings worth nearly £10m already identified
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council has identified savings nearing £10million but will be faced with "reluctantly" raising Council Tax due to "huge" demand and costs in children's and adults' services, its Deputy Leader has warned.
A report on the Council's budget and Medium Term Financial Plan will be considered by the Council's Cabinet on Monday, February 9.
This comes after the Council's Deputy Leader warned that "difficult decisions" lay ahead when budget discussions began last year.
The estimated budget gap for 2026 to 2027 will be £6.7million, with this forecast to rise even further in future years.
Plans are underway to ensure the budget gap can be addressed, building upon the close to £10million savings already identified through the 'Powering Our Future' programme, which is higher than was anticipated in the current approved budget.
The report also considers the views of hundreds of residents who filled out the 'Let's Talk Money' budget consultation, which ran from December for six weeks.
The consultation found that just over half of residents who filled in the survey were comfortable with some form of rise in Council Tax.
And the report proposes a Council Tax increase of 4.95 per cent, with 2.95 per cent for core Council Tax and two per cent on the Government's adult social care levy.
"We know that recommending a rise in Council Tax will come as a blow to residents and this has been done very reluctantly due to the unprecedented budget pressures we are facing," said the Council's Deputy Leader, Councillor Paul Rowling.
He continued: "We have been able to use financial reserves to meet growing costs in vital services, but we know that this cannot continue or eventually this money will run out. We really do not want to raise Council Tax and it's not a decision taken lightly, but if we didn't then this would have an immediate and severe impact.
"As we have set out when budget discussions first began last year, huge demand for services continues to increase, with no signs of slowing down. This is particularly felt in children's and adults' services as this equates to more than 75 per cent of the Council's overall budget.
"But although we are of course facing significant challenges, this is not something we cannot overcome. We have a clear plan which we anticipate will generate the savings we need.
"A good example of the sort of savings we have made is through a review of how we support residents coming out of hospital, which has made annual savings of £500,000. Senior management reviews have also allowed us to cut back on some costs.
"Thank you to all of our residents who filled in our budget consultation. You are our number one priority and that's why we carried out the 'Let's Talk Money' survey. We really want to understand what is important to them so that we can do all we can to ensure the Council's limited revenue budget is used in the most effective way - and the results of the survey have helped identify areas of the Council where it will be recommended that spending will be reviewed.
"We've also had a number of comments on £300,000 being spent on an 'opening party' for the Stockton Waterfront opening, so it's important to set the record straight. To be clear, this was only ever a proposal for a series of events to mark the opening of the park and not a 'party'. Moving forward, I can confirm Cabinet will be recommending to Council that we will remove the £300,000 from the budget. Any opening events for the project will be paid for using our existing events budget.
"Finally, I must reiterate that we as always, remain ambitious for the people of our Borough. We will build upon the success of our Powering our Future programme to deliver the savings needed, following a planned and managed approach. Although savings need to be found and this will be a challenging time with difficult decisions to be made, we will always have the best interests of our communities at the heart of every decision.
"Of course, we must not forget what a great place to live, work and visit Stockton-on-Tees is."
Cabinet will consider the proposed budget and Medium Term Financial Plan before making their recommendations to the full Council at its meeting on 18 February.
For information on Council Tax Reduction and other support available, visit our Apply for a Council Tax reduction webpage.
